Only 38 percent of Americans think the nation’s best days lay in the future, according to a Rasmussen Reports survey. The finding comes on the heels of President Barack Obama signing the new, national health care reform bill into law.
The survey, taken March 23-24, shows that only 38 percent of Americans think that America’s best day are ahead of her, a figure close to the all-time low of 32 percent Rasmussen reported in October 2009.
A plurality of Americans, 47 percent, think the country’s best days are behind it, a reversal from a year ago when an almost identical number – 48 percent – thought better days lay ahead.
Fifteen percent of the country was unsure, a figure which has largely remained unchanged. The fact that a combined 62 percent of Americans are either pessimistic or unsure about the country’s future stands in contrast to claims made by the president and his Democratic allies that the passage of health care reform would be greeted positively by Americans.
That downcast attitude, even following a major victory for Obama, was shared most by voters young and old. Rasmussen Reports found that people ages 18-29 and over 65 were the most pessimistic about the country’s future.
The survey also found that the country seemed to reject the fundamental principles behind Obama’s health reform: that government could improve society by offering greater services.
Sixty-three percent of Americans favored a government that offered fewer services and took less in taxes than one with more services that took more in taxes. Only 25 percent favored more government services and higher taxes.
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/63444
